I clamped my teeth together, and a fierce growl, fueled by my pissed-off wolf, echoed around the room. I wanted nothing more than to wring her beautiful neck. “I’m willing to pay the price for meeting with Maggie,” I managed with as much calm as I could muster. “But taking our vehicle and supplies without our consent is not in good faith.” Witches were notorious for charging exorbitant fees. “You are free to bill us for services rendered, but we want our vehicle back now.”
She cackled. “Well, it’s gone. Do you see it in here?” She mocked looking around the room.
Nick cleared his throat, but before he could speak, Rourke cut in, his voice laced with danger. “The truck doesn’t matter. We need a vehicle. Any will do. And I suggest you deliver one in the next three seconds or I will tear your throat out.”
Angie’s face changed for the merest second, but it was enough. “Well, I guess it’s your lucky day then, because I have one vehicle left.” She pushed off the wall and shouldered past me, her glossy hair swinging behind her.
By the smallest margin imaginable I resisted the urge to yank it completely out of her head, my hands curling inward.
She lifted her fingers at a far wall. A door, seamlessly hidden, lifted, making no sound. Behind it stood a lone vehicle.
An ancient-looking Vespa.
My voice sounded savage in my ears. “You expect us to escape on a scooter? You must be out of your mind. We need something with four doors and a roof. And there are three of us, not two, in case you haven’t noticed.”
Hands on her hips, she declared, “This is what I have available. Everyone left after the first explosion. It’s actually the best-concealed transportation we have. Spells go by weight—the bigger the object, the harder to spell. Your precious Humvee will only stay spelled for a few hours at most. This one”—she gestured at the aged moped—“will stay spelled for a week.” Her eyes glittered with laughter. She was playing us, but another explosion hit and there was no more time to argue. “Take it or leave it. That’s all I have.”
I took a step forward and Nick wrapped his hands around my shoulders, steering me away from her and toward the battered Vespa. “Jess, listen to me,” he whispered in my ear. “Just get on it and go. You’re running out of time, and arguing with her is not doing us any good. The sorcerers will arrive soon. Head out while you still have time, and once they stop the assault, I’ll head back to the Safe House. Everything will work out.”
Rourke walked over and grabbed the scooter by the handlebars and lifted it out of its parking space with the effort it took an accountant to lift his phone. He strode over to the platform and set it down with a clang, snarling, “If this thing breaks down once we’re outside, I’m coming back in here to kill you. Do you understand me?”
Angie had the nerve to grin. “It won’t. It’s spelled in more ways than one, big fella. It doesn’t need gas and it can carry two people no problem.”
“There are three of us here,” I muttered.
She shrugged. “Like I said, this is all I have. I couldn’t care less if you use it or not. Stay in here if you want.” She spun around and headed for the door right as another explosion rocked the foundation. Light fixtures swayed and concrete cracked, sprinkling dust from the walls. We were several floors underneath the mansion, so that one had been closer. Angie angled her head back before making her dramatic exit. “If you don’t leave now, however, you’re going to miss your golden opportunity. The sorcerers will be here in moments, and we wouldn’t want you to die out there or anything.” She turned, slamming the door with a clap.
Rourke’s movements were hostile. He was one step away from kicking the stupid moped across the room. “Jessica, if we didn’t need to move quickly, I’d bash down these walls and try to find something else. But that will take longer than we have right now. It’s either this or we stay.”
I eyed the hydraulic lift. “Fine. I say we go. Once we’re out of range of the sorcerers, we can figure out another ride. If this thing is spelled like she said, it should be undetectable. We ditch it the first chance we can and find something with doors.”
Resigned, Rourke slid onto the seat. The bottom bowed dangerously close to the ground, groaning against his weight. He swore as he turned the key. The thing puttered to life reluctantly like an old motorboat as he shifted it to neutral and directed it to the middle of the platform with his feet.
I spotted a green button on the wall across the room as I walked toward him. “Gods,” I said. “Nick, punch the green button on the wall and stay down here until it’s over. There’s no reason to stick your neck out and join the fight.” I swung my leg over and straddled what was left of the seat, which was about four inches. There was more creaking as the moped took my weight, but surprisingly it held.
“I’m not planning on getting in the middle of it,” Nick answered as he headed for the activation switch. “But once this is over, I want a drink and some more explanations.”
“I know.” I smiled. “I owe you a full recap.”
“Just stay alive.”
“That’s the plan.” He punched the button and the platform jumped once, rising quickly. When the bottom of the lift met the garage floor, it clicked seamlessly into place and Rourke revved the scooter. It coughed and sputtered, threatening to die.
“I am going to wring her scrawny neck,” Rourke growled. Without a trigger from us, the garage door began to move up on its own.
I slid my arms firmly around Rourke’s waist, intertwining my fingers, pulling him tight. He was warm and smelled delicious. “Okay, let’s do this,” I whispered in his ear.
Rourke gunned the Vespa to full throttle, which was roughly human jogging speed, and we began to buzz toward the gate.
Almost at once, I heard something in the sky and glanced over my shoulder. “Something’s coming right at us,” I yelled as the ball of light began to gain speed, like it suddenly recognized us. It had come out of nowhere, but there was no question it knew we were its target now.
At the last minute, Rourke angled the scooter, swerving hard to the right. The light exploded behind us, rocking us in our seats and bouncing the moped off the pavement.
“Hold on!” Rourke yelled. “I’m going to have to take this corner hard.”
I locked my arms against his chest, turning my head in time to see another light arcing toward us in the sky. I watched as it changed course to follow us as we bounded onto the street.
“She lied!” I screamed. “This thing isn’t spelled! It’s probably Maggie’s toy scooter.” Fury radiated through me and fur erupted along my arms. “The sorcerers have my signature, they know where I am!” We would’ve had a chance to outrun them if we’d been on Rourke’s motorcycle, but on this thing we were sitting ducks.
“Not for long,” Rourke roared. We took the curb, Rourke wrenching the wheel as we went.
One jump and we cleared the boulevard.
One more and we hit the lake.
4
Rourke and I both leapt off the Vespa right as another explosion rocked the embankment we’d just crossed. The impact flung us far into the lake.
“Stay under—” Rourke managed before we splashed down, both of us plunging feetfirst into the water.
The force of my landing shook my equilibrium and I whirled around in the cold, discombobulated for a few beats. I steadied myself, throwing my arms out to get my bearings, and opened my eyes. It was dark as night and the water was murky, full of algae and weeds. My wolf had fed me a constant stream of adrenaline since we’d left the garage, but another shot hit my system with warm, delicious heat. My muscles coalesced under my skin and my nails sharpened. I glanced around and spotted Rourke just ahead of me. I took off after him, kicking my feet powerfully as I swam. Taking a swim was becoming a new norm for me. I just hoped there were no Naiads in Lake of the Isles.
If there were, it was going to be a long-ass swim.
Two more strokes and the water behind me exploded, pushing both of us forward in a
rush. But the Orb wasn’t on mark. The water had masked me, however slightly. Rourke had been right to dump us into the lake. It was the only chance we had.
But we couldn’t stay under indefinitely.
As I swam farther, the need to take air into my lungs pressed painfully against my diaphragm. Rourke motioned me with his hand. I came up beside him. He pointed to the surface and then to himself. We needed direction.
I nodded and he shot to the surface.
He was back under in a moment. Rather than try to explain, he grabbed my arm. We took no more than ten strokes and the water became shallower. He gestured to some concrete pilings and indicated up. We both bobbed to the surface under a small bridge. I gulped air into my lungs.
“I want you to swim to the far side of the lake.” He pointed toward the east. “See those islands? Swim between them. I’m going to find us a ride. The bombs aren’t looking for me. When you get across, I’ll be waiting.” He pulled me close and kissed me roughly. His mouth was hot on mine after the cold water had chilled my lips, but it ended too quickly as he pressed me back under just as the sky above us lighted with several more Orbs.
I kicked hard, using the bridge footings to jettison me into the lake. The bombs exploded behind me. Okay, we need more speed. On a thought, I switched control to my wolf. She was ready, and my full Lycan form was almost instantaneous. It took us only a few minutes to reach the islands with her in control. We veered close to the shore of the southernmost island and I had to risk taking a quick gasp of air. Light started streaking toward us immediately. Her reaction time was much quicker than mine and we dove fast, going as deep as we could, but it was still incredibly shallow between the islands.
Water exploded directly above us.
That was too close. She swam hard, guiding us to the bottom. We touched both feet on the ground, half walking, half swimming. My lungs started to ache as more explosions peppered the lake.
Fairly quickly the depth leveled out, and as we neared the main shoreline, the bottom began to incline steeply. We were close. No matter what, we run once we clear the water. If we don’t see Rourke, we follow the road. The street ran one way around the lake. We would follow it until we saw him. He would be there.
I shot out of the lake at a dead run.
The shoreline merged into a small hill, and I covered the expanse of the grassy slope in a blur, bounding over a park bench in one leap, morphing back to my human form in an instant. I gulped in deep breaths as I sprinted toward the road, hitting the asphalt right as a car screeched around a corner. It was coming toward me fast, going the wrong way on the one-way street. Several arcs of light hit the sky from the east at the same time. This was going to be close. The car raced up to me and did a 180, tires spinning. The passenger door popped open and Rourke shouted, “Get in!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted several petite figures running up the street behind the car. Tally’s white hair flowed out behind her. She was in the lead and yelled, “Go! They’ve put a containment bubble over the lake. We’ll get you out.” Several spells shot up from the witch’s fingers and the Orbs around us exploded into nothingness. “Take the car due south at full speed. Don’t stop. We’ll break a hole in the barrier right as you hit.”
I threw myself into what appeared to be a black Porsche and slammed the door.
Rourke wrenched the wheel to the right. “Here we go.”
I grabbed on to the handhold above my head as the car flew forward. I was sopping wet. Lake water leaked off of me all over the interior of what smelled like an extremely expensive car. “Where’d you get this?” I asked as Rourke took a curve at seventy.
“Tally had it waiting. Seems little Maggie had another vision.”
“Bless that possessed child.” I glanced in my side-view mirror. I could barely see the witches on the road behind us.
“Brace yourself. We’re going to hit this thing hard.” Rourke gunned the car forward. A shimmering mass loomed in front of us. The air wavered like a mirage on a hot day, but other than that there was no indication anything was there. A human wouldn’t be able to detect it.
We hit it at 120 miles per hour.
A huge sound, like a sledgehammer crashing down on a mountain of glass, echoed around us. I instinctively covered my face with both forearms, expecting the windshield to spray us, but it held. There was a blast of red light, which must have come from the witches, and electricity shot through me like a bolt of white-hot lightning.
As we broke through to the other side, the force of it pinned me back in my seat, taking my breath.
The car had absorbed the brunt of the impact, or we would’ve fried in our seats. “Thank goodness this car is spelled,” I called over the ebbing noise of crunching glass and metal as we sped away.
“We should be less detectable now that we’re out of their enclosure,” Rourke said. He took the next curve at a hundred and the car slid sideways. “Tally guaranteed on her life this car was spelled. Your signature will be cloaked as long as you stay inside.” He turned to glance at me briefly, his eyes blazing. “Angie dies if I ever see her again.”
As nice as that was to hear, I pointed ahead. “We’ve got company.” Roughly three blocks ahead, a wall of sorcerers blocked the road. There was no doubt they were sorcerers because they were all bald and were decked out in flowing robes. Plus they all held wicked-looking staffs pointed directly at us. “My signature may be cloaked, but this car is not invisible,” I said. “These guys can see us just fine.”
“These cowards were positioned here to keep the shield up, nothing more.” Rourke stamped on the accelerator and the Porsche sprang forward. The speedometer jumped to 140 as we closed in.
We were on them in seconds. They scattered, springing out of the way, swinging their staffs in unison. Blue light shot out of the tips, consuming the car as we sped past.
The force of the combined hit brought the tires temporarily off the ground.
“Is the car going to hold?” I yelled, grabbing on to the door.
“We’re about to find out.” Rourke gnashed his teeth.
Magic vibrated all around us, sounding like cymbal crashes in my eardrums. I wasn’t sure if the witches’ spell on the car would hold against this many sorcerers firing at the same time. I fumbled for the handle, pushing power out of me in a rush, channeling it into the frame of the car. Help me fortify this. It may not work, but we have to give it a try. My wolf was one step ahead of me, fueling energy through us so quickly I felt light-headed as a mountain of gold strands erupted in my mind. My power signature was the color of sunlight. Aim it outward.
It was a simple transfer of power.
The car took it greedily.
I think it’s working. The car, which had glowed blue with the sorcerers’ magic for a moment, now turned a hazy golden yellow. There was a sizzling sound as the spell disintegrated completely and the car returned to its normal color, thank goodness, because driving around in a glowing car would be a problem.
Rourke’s foot hadn’t moved off the accelerator. It was too early in the morning for anyone to be up, so the streets were fairly clear, which was a lucky break. I glanced out the back window, but the sorcerers were long gone and no one appeared to be following us.
I eased back in my seat, relaxing my death grip on the door handle. “What’s the plan?” I asked as Rourke made several quick turns.
“We head out of town. I don’t know how far the sorcerers’ magic network stretches, but I know they need physical bodies to amplify their power. Without it they’re weak. That’s why there were so many of them maintaining the barrier. Once we’re out of the city limits, if you stay in the car, it will be almost impossible for them to track us.” Rourke’s gaze was locked on the rearview mirror. “We’re heading south now.” He finally turned to me. “I say we continue until we hit the Ozarks.”
My hands tingled with leftover adrenaline and I wrung them absentmindedly. We’d already planned to rendezvous in the Ozarks with Nao
mi and Ray, if he survived, in a few weeks. Rourke’s cabin in the woods had been the only mutual out-of-the-way meeting spot we all knew about and could come up with in a hurry. Plus it was on our way to New Orleans. But the plan had not been to stay there. Both the vamps and the rogue wolf pack knew the location. “Do you think that’s a wise idea to go there and stay for a while? Is it safe?”
“I’ve been turning it over in my mind and it’s highly unlikely the sorcerers know about it. The vamps aren’t interested in you, since you’ll be on their doorstep shortly,” he replied. My agreement to provide services to the vamps had not been an easy thing to tell him after we’d left Selene’s lair. To his credit, he’d taken it fairly well. If crushing boulders with his fists equaled taking it well. “Your father is busy dealing with the Southern wolves, so they’re occupied. If any of the fracture wolves had the balls to stick around after the fight, we can pick them off easily enough. They’re young and inexperienced.” The fracture pack had formed because of me, their prime objective being to eradicate me and form a new ruling power among the wolves. We’d fought them outside Rourke’s cabin. “And think about it, nobody would believe we’d be stupid enough to return. The Ozarks may be the best under-the-radar place we have.”
He had a point. “There’s only one complication I can think of, and his name is Hank Lauder,” I said. Hank had been an enemy of mine since birth and I’d recently killed his son in the same battle with the fracture pack. His last known location was in the Ozarks. According to my father, he’d never left the fight. And he was not young and inexperienced.
“So you’re saying there’s a chance a pissed-off werewolf out for revenge is hanging around on my mountain?” Rourke asked.
“It’s definitely a possibility. My father sent two wolves to track him before I left, but I don’t know if they were successful. We should talk to Tyler before we head out. He may have additional information and I want to let him know what we’re doing anyway. With any luck, he’s been in touch with our father by now. It’s been too long since we’ve heard from him. Drive by the Safe House on our way out of town—we’re not far from it.” I gestured to the right. “Take that street.”
Cold Blooded Page 4
